With the end of the semester nearing, Novos will be left with the responsibility of moving out of their dorm by noon on May 21. Many students noted the recent change in dorm checkout procedures, announced by Housing and Res Life Team on Mar 28, and the Catalyst offered a more in-depth explanation of these recent changes in procedure.
According to Sean Brueggemann, Assistant Director of Housing Operations and Dining Services, the 2022-23 checkout procedure is a return to the form of New College’s pre-COVID procedures, and that “last year we were planning to return to walkthrough checkouts in addition to express checkouts, but end-of-year staffing shortages necessitated a continuation of the 2021 checkout procedures.”
Walkthrough checkouts, like the name suggests, is a system involving time-slot based checkout times where a housing staff member inspects the room before the student fully checks out. While some students may prefer a less contact-heavy alternative like previous years during the coronavirus pandemic, the walkthrough checkouts permit students to give in-person explanations and gives Housing the “ability to get rooms ready for the upcoming year, prepare any applicable charges for student accounts and minimize any unnecessary charges and appeals over summer.”
Another change that has come with reinstating walkthrough checkouts is limiting the student’s ability to refute damage charges after checkout. If students chose the express checkout option, they forfeit the right to contest damage charges, but walkthrough checkouts will leave the ability to contest charges until June 30.
“Furniture should be assembled, not stacked, and if a student is in a suite style room, furniture should be returned to the proper location,” Brueggemann said. ”For example, no beds should be in the common area of a suite. Otherwise, surfaces should be clean.”
Students that have damage not caused by themselves—which includes but is not limited to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian and Nicole—have the option to submit a work request and email housing-reslife@ncf.edu.
One concern regarding the dorm checkout process is the availability of the walkthroughs and who will perform them. Residential Advisors (RAs) continue to take on a lot of responsibility for student safety and some students expressed concern that the moving out process would add to the steep list of duties with the position. However, Housing confirmed that RAs will not be responsible for checking other students’ dorms this year and it will be done by a series of fifteen-minute first-come-first-serve appointments by Housing Staff.Housing advises students to take photos of the state of their dorm room and common area as they leave them for any potential damage appeals. For charges in common areas and Pei dorms with multiple students per room, the charges will be split evenly amongst all roommates unless one or more students take responsibility for the damages by June 15. Housing has provided students with an updated tuition and fee schedule for the 2022-23 academic year that includes all the potential charges students can receive after they check out of their dorm.